On August 8, 1952, Carsten Peter Thiede was born. He was a German archaeologist and New Testament scholar who later worked as a professor at the Staatsunabhängige Theologische Hochschule in Basel. See wikipedia for more information.

Roger Federer was born in Basel on August 8, 1981. He is a retired Swiss tennis icon who trained at the city's Old Boys Tennis Club and once served as a ball boy at the Swiss Indoors tournament. See wikipedia for more information.

Jacob Burckhardt died on August 8, 1897. He was a Swiss art and cultural historian born in Basel who taught at the University of Basel for over forty years and authored the influential work "The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy." See wikipedia for more information.